Naturally
by mirage888
Summary: ......what the heck am I doing! Am I seriously checking out my best friend? Get your head in the game, Alex! She looked back over at Justin, and he had the strangest smirk on his face. "What?" said Alex defensively. "Oh nothing....." AU Jalex. Too cute.
1. Friend of the Family

_(A/N: This is my first story on Fanfiction, and I am excited! Yay! Wooo-ok that's enough. I wanted to write a non-creepy, non-incest Jalex because there are so many ways that can be done. And we love their chemistry, right? :) I made Justin and Alex both be 17, between their two ages on the show. I don't own WoWP, just my love for it!)_

_Alex wrapped her arms more tightly around him. Finding the bravery to look into his eyes, she leaned in closer....._

A Few Months Before

17-year-old Alex Russo was bored. Her best friends were unavailable; she hated when that happened. Harper was busy working on a new outfit, Justin was at some kind of school thingy, (she didn't really pay attention to what, because it bored her) and even her kid brother Max was at a friend's house. To top it all off, nothing was on TV! _I could do my homework.... _she thought. Then she burst out laughing. Luckily, no one else was around. But seriously, Alex doing homework? Ridiculous. Unless....._I wonder if looking up some spells would count as "homework" _she thought. _Even if they're spells I'm not supposed to be learning....but who needs to know about it? I am REALLY bored. _With a yawn and a quick stretch, she lugged herself off of the living room couch.

As she made her way down to the family's secret wizard lair, she thought about which "area of expertise" to concentrate on that day. The last time she had done this, she taught herself a few easy transfiguring spells. Who wouldn't want to know how to turn a pencil into a hotdog whenever they got hungry? How had she even survived without that spell before, anyway?! This time, though, she wanted something a little more on the fun side. _How about an invisibility spell? _she deliberated. _I could totally sneak up on people and scare them when I pop out of thin air, or I could stay invisible and eavesdrop! This is so gonna be worth it. _Selecting the largest spell book the Russo family owned, the one she got most of her "fun" spells from, she thumbed through until she found 'I' for invisibility. _Now to practice._

_* * *_

"Honey, we're home!" Theresa Russo called out. _Aaaahh! _thought Alex. _No one can know I actually do magic for FUN! _Slamming the spell book shut and heaving it back onto its shelf, she quickly ran out of the lair and into the sub station's kitchen. "Oh, uh, h-hi, mom, I was uh, getting a soda...." She hoped her mother wouldn't get suspicious. "Uh, ok, honey, just don't drink too much, dinner's in half an hour" her mother replied. "Maxie! Maxie, come and help your mother with the groceries!" Theresa turned to get her son to help her. Alex's 14-year-old brother Max came through the door, dragging his feet and looking like he would much rather not help carry the groceries, and for that matter, not be called Maxie. "All right mom, I guess I'll help you. But where's dad? Why can't he do manly things like carrying stuff?" "Your father had a dentist's appointment. You know him; he's probably got so many cavities from that darn sweet tooth of his that they had to cancel all other appointments just to finish him up!" Theresa sighed. There was really nothing she could do about her husband's affinity for sugar. Boy oh boy had she tried.

Max looked confused. "Wait....just because one of dad's teeth is awesome, he gets a lot of cavities?! That's not fair! I thought I had a bunch of sweet teeth.....oh wow I am never going to the dentist again!" "No, no, Maxie, that's not how it....never mind." Theresa shook her head. It was a true miracle that her boy had made it through middle school, and she prayed constantly he would make it to high school graduation. From her stool at the sub station counter, Alex rolled her eyes. And people thought _she _was dumb? Get real. She hopped down from the stool and headed back upstairs. Maybe Harper would be up for a phone call, if she would be willing to take time away from her clothing-making.

* * *

"Thank you Theresa, dinner was delicious" said Jerry Russo, Alex's dad. He patted his belly contentedly. "I'm surprised you can eat after all the work the dentist had to do on you" Theresa smirked. "Yeah, thanks for dinner mom, ok well gotta go bye!" "Not so fast Alex!" Jerry stopped her. "You know you have wizard training in 15 minutes! You can't go anywhere farther than within the confines of our apartment." "Darn it" Alex muttered under her breath. _Can't even make a simple escape _she thought. Well, at least things were better knowing Justin and Max had to suffer along with her. Where was Justin, anyway? Surely his school thingy would be over by now. It was a Saturday, for crying out loud! School thingies should be illegal on the weekends! Just then, the doorbell rang. _How can he be so formal? _she thought. _We've only known each other for like, 12 years....since that time in kindergarten when-focus Alex! _She started for the door, then stopped. _Heheh...now would be the perfect time to put that new spell to use. _Quietly, she waved her wand over herself and whispered the words "I want to give Justin a good scare, make me as invisible as air!" Once she couldn't see herself anymore, she tiptoed over to the door. _So far, so good _she thought. She opened the door as slowly as she could, and watched her best friend Justin Thomas step through, looking baffled. Sneaking behind him, she slammed the door hard. "WHAT THE-" Justin whipped around. Seeing nothing, he got a look of suspicion on his face. "Alex...I don't know how, but you are definitely involved in this" he called. Sneaking behind him again, she whispered as quietly as she could "Now that scaring Justin's done, make me normal so I can have fun!" Getting right behind Justin, she said "you're right. It was me." Justin shrieked like a little girl, then clutched at his chest, panting.

"ALEX! You know I'm naturally jumpy! You shouldn't do these things to me; some best friend you are." "Oh, don't get your boxers in a bunch" she retorted. "We all know I'm the pulse in your deadbeat life." "Ha, ha, hilarious. Can we just go into the lair now? I need to learn a revenge spell" Justin said, looking somewhere between embarrassed, angry, frightened, and annoyed. He was probably all four. "Ok, good luck with _that"_ Alex grinned. She knew Justin wouldn't stay mad at her. After all, he had put up with her during wizard classes for years. Justin was a wizard too, an only child of busy wizard parents. His parents were so busy that they knew they would never have time to teach their son about magic. Luckily, they were good old friends with the Russos and lived nearby. Jerry had agreed to take on Justin as a student in addition to his own two children because Justin and Alex were the same age. Justin was almost family to them; he hung around a lot, sometimes worked in the sub station, and was like a big brother to Max. Alex would never admit it, but she wouldn't know what she'd do with herself if she didn't have Justin around.

_(A/N: I hope you like the story so far! Sorry there wasn't really much Jalex yet, but you've gotta lay the foundation before you finish the building! I'm going to try and update at least once a week, but I apologize in advance if I don't. I promise I will NOT leave you hanging.)_


	2. Beating Around the Bush

The wizarding lesson that day was just as boring as usual. Well, boring to Alex. Her father droned on in the background, and she zoned out. If she had her way, they'd be learning mischievous magic. For Max, it wouldn't matter much what they learned. It took extra-long for him to understand anything whether he was actually interested in it or not. As for Justin....that nerd. He was happy to learn absolutely _anything. Maybe it's because his parents couldn't teach him _thought Alex. Wait, where did that nice thought come from? Everyone knew Justin was a dork about learning magic, learning in school, and learning anything that could be learned. As long as he had permission, of course. _Goody-goody _Alex thought. She guessed she could sort of see why Max idolized Justin, but at the same time, it was hard to wrap her mind around. _Maybe I'm not the best example of an older sibling _she thought guiltily. _But Max looks up to me for the fun stuff, so that's something, right? He can have Justin for the boring snooze-fest stuff. _In the background, Justin and her dad were cheering over some spell Justin had executed perfectly. Of course. "Alex, your turn" said Jerry. "Wha-huh?" "Alex, were you even paying attention? Do you even know what spell I'm teaching you?!" Jerry looked ready to give a lecture. "Uh, chyeah, sure dad. We're learning about....about....unicorn....disappearing....powder-aw I got nothing!" Alex looked defeated. "Alex, I know you think the wizard competition will be a breeze for you against Max, but if you're not careful, he could end up learning more than you!" Jerry and Alex looked at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Good one dad!" said Alex. "Ok, but you know that if you are too careless with your magic and don't learn important things about it, you might not even get to keep your powers if, and when, you win. Justin, I think the tutoring sessions will have to start up again. Alex, every Friday night Justin will tutor you until you can prove to me that you are learning."

"DAD!" Alex exclaimed. "Why _Fridays_? My social life just died in one punishment." "Well, it's up to you to 'bring it back to life'. See, Justin doesn't mind. I would think he'd be more upset, having to tutor the girl who zones out every five seconds unless she hears the words 'shopping' 'money' 'evil' or 'scheme'." "Da-ad!" "Just kidding, honey" he was quick to amend. Turning to Justin, he said quietly "not really!" Justin chuckled along. Alex fumed. "The reason Justin doesn't care, dad, is because he never _does _anything on Fridays. It's only if Harper and I invite him that he has a social life!" She knew that was a low blow, but she was desperate. Justin's smirk dropped into a hurt frown. "Look, Alex, I am nice enough to put up with you as a friend, and sometimes as a tutor. I couldn't tell you which is harder, though, because you never make being around you easy." Alex looked a little guiltier. "If you would just focus," Justin continued, "we might only need one or two sessions! Then you can get back to your precious 'social life.'" "Aw, fine" Alex grumbled. "I guess it won't be so bad. And you know I didn't mean to be mean, I was just trying to make a point to my dad. You ruined it." She stuck her tongue out at him, but then smiled. Justin tried to look angry, but gave in and smiled back. "It's settled then" said Jerry. "Tutoring sessions, and don't you try to get out of it, Alex. Class dismissed."

The following Friday...

"Alex! Alex, I KNOW you are not listening to me, so please turn off that radio!" Justin was getting frustrated, she could tell. Her plan was working.

_You are the thunder and I am the lightning, _

_And I love the way you know who you are and to me,_

_It's exciting when you know it's meant to be_

_Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally_

_When you're with me baby_

_Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally_

_Bay-bay-bay-beee_

Alex sang the chorus to her favorite song at the top of her lungs. It was only a matter of time before-yep. He shut it off. Pretending that hadn't just happened, she continued to dance around the lair and completely ignore Justin. "Alex...." he warned. Then, surprisingly, her grabbed her arms and faced her to him. "Alex. I know what you're doing, and it's not going to work. All it's going to do is make this take a lot longer than it should." She was quite surprised inside, but she couldn't let him see her sweat. Batting her eyelashes, she said "Whatever do you mean, Justin? I'm just trying to make studying more fun." She pouted for emphasis. Justin rolled his eyes. "I have known you for way too long to believe that one. You were trying to wear me out so that I would give up and leave! But I don't give up that easily. C'mon, how about this? We spend the next hour, hour and a half studying, and then I'll take you out for ice cream. My treat." "Well...I suppose that doesn't sound SO bad..." she considered. "Ok. We'll do it your way. But are you _sure _we can't have any music?" "Absolutely sure." "Ugh fine. Let's get this over with then."

They did spend the whole hour and a half studying and doing magic, but after they had gone for ice cream and Alex was getting ready for bed she found herself thinking, _that wasn't really so bad after all. Justin is such a good person, although I'd probably never tell him that. I really don't give him nearly enough credit. Maybe this tutoring thing won't be COMPLETELY horrible. And I bet by next time I can convince him to let me keep the radio on. _She fell asleep thinking of Justin, with a small smile on her face.

The next morning, Alex got up at her usual 11:30. What? It was a Saturday. Why should anyone wake up early if they don't have to? She decided to see if Harper was up for hanging out. As she made her way to the kitchen to find breakfast, though, a familiar voice was saying: "...couldn't find red peppers, so I painted my own purple ones. Oh hi Alex! Good thing you're awake, I've been here for an hour already." Alex ran a hand through her tangled hair. "Harper, what are you _doing _here?" she asked. "You know I don't get up before at least 11 on Saturdays!" "Oh I know, but I had nothing better to do at home so I thought I'd wait for you to get up. I spent some quality time with your family, anyway, so it wasn't too bad!" Harper looked smug. Theresa, Jerry and Max looked tortured. The three of them silently began creeping out of the room, and then they made a mad dash for various doors. "I'll finish telling you about my outfit later!" Harper yelled after them. Alex looked at Harper's outfit. She was wearing a poofy skirt that had hand-painted purple bell peppers on it, a green shirt the color of the pepper stems, a large purple pepper ring, and around her ponytail was a hair elastic with a purple pepper on it. "Feeling abstract today?" Alex asked dryly. Harper responded, "well, since it wasn't easy to find _red_ peppers, or really, any peppers for that matter, I spray-painted some green ones. What do you think?" "Uh...it's really different?" Alex never knew what to say to her friend when it came to these outfits. If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all, right?

"Anyway Harper, I need to get out and do something today. Now that I have tutoring on Fridays AND lessons on Saturday nights I'm starting to go a little nuts. Wanna go to the movies?" Harper considered it. "All right....I was going to take you to the build-a-wig shop, but I guess we can go to the movies instead. Can we invite Justin though?" When she said Justin's name, Harper got this crazy look in her eyes. She'd had a major crush on Justin for as long as anyone could remember, and Alex alternated between being amused by it and being annoyed. Today, it annoyed her, but she knew she wouldn't get her way if Harper didn't get her way as well. "Argh, fine, but I don't know what hanging out with him THIS much is going to do to my reputation" Alex said. "Oh thank you thank you, Alex!" Harper was practically jumping up and down. Then she stopped and got an evil, mean look and said sharply "but _I _will sit next to him. He's mine mine mine!" "Okay Harper, calm down! He's all yours, 'kay? You can sit next to him." _Ayaiai _she thought. _Will her creepy obsessive crush NEVER end? _Alex headed for the phone, and called Justin to tell him their plans. He sounded so excited, she felt sorta bad about being reluctant to invite him. _Maybe I should stop being so judgemental _she thought. He did have a way of making her feel comfortable with being herself around him. They shared the secret of their magic, and it brought them closer together. _I think I didn't want him to come because of Harper. She's so annoying with that crush! Well wait. It hasn't bothered me that much before, why should it now? _Just then, the doorbell rang, and she started a little out of her thoughts. She could go all Dr. Phil on herself later.

As she went to open the door, Harper squealed. Alex gave her a Look. "Sorry" said Harper, looking sheepish. "I'll keep it cooool." "Right...." Alex finished opening the door. Justin was standing there, also trying to be "cooool." "Hey ladies" he said. "Don't call me a _lady_" said Alex indignantly. "It makes me feel like I have to be all proper, and junk!" Harper floated over. "Hi, Justin" she said dreamily. "You can call me a lady whenever you want." Alex crossed her arms, inspected her fingernails, and sighed loudly. "OK, let's get this show on the road! I need entertainment, and I need it now!" Marching out the door, she called "are you lovebirds coming or what?" The other two scrambled after her, flushed; Harper from excitement, and Justin from discomfort. "_Alex_!" he hissed, jogging to catch up with her. "Don't encourage her! I know she can't resist me, but I don't want to hurt her!" "Uh-huh....trust me, Harper isn't that easily hurt. There's probably a LOT you could do before she would go away. It doesn't help that _you're _so nice to her." Alex gave him a pointed look. "Yeah, well, unlike _some _people I have manners and consider others' feelings before running my mouth" he retorted. "Whatever" she said. "All I care about right now is having fun before my weekend is completely shot." When they got to the movies, they decided to see _Night at the Halloween Fraternity Disaster Party: What the Boys Saw_, a spin-off of their favorite movie. Justin insisted on paying for the popcorn, which Harper found romantic and Alex found convenient. As they walked into the theater, Harper whispered to Alex, "remember. _Mine._" Alex raised her eyebrows but said nothing. As it turned out, Justin sat between the two of them. Alex wondered if this would bother Harper, or if this was acceptable to her. _She'll probably misinterpret everything _Alex thought. For instance, at the really scary parts she couldn't help but hide her face in Justin's arm. It was a reflex! And so what if her hand brushed his when they both reached for popcorn? It could happen to anyone. All the same, Alex hoped Harper was paying a lot of attention to the movie so she wouldn't get a lecture later. She got enough lectures from everyone else in her life as it was.

When the movie ended, Harper had to go home, but Justin decided to go back to Alex's house since it wasn't long before they had to go to wizarding class. As she waited for her mom to pick her up, Harper pulled Alex aside. "I need to talk to you Alex. About Justin?" _Uh-oh _Alex thought. "Listen Harper, now is really not a good time, can we talk later? You can call me, when wizarding class is over." (Harper knew their secret too, the only person not involved in their magic.) "Well....ok, but make sure you pick up right away, it's urgent." "Harper, I'm sure whatever it is can't be so urgent that we couldn't have talked about it before, or that we can't talk about it later. We've known Justin since kindergarten. It can wait." Alex really wanted to avoid the impending conversation. When it came to talking to Harper about Justin, things were always weird. "Oh, my mom's here. I'll call you later, Alex" said Harper. "Byeee, Justin! she exclaimed, waving at him. "She sure is enthusiastic" Justin said to Alex. "Mmm-hmmm" was Alex's response. "C'mon, let's get back to my house." And they started to make their way home.

_(A/N:_ _The song Alex was singing is Naturally, by Selena Gomez and the Scene. It's what the story is named after, and I thought it would be kind of funny to have Alex like it. Keep reading and reviewing! You have no idea how many ideas are bouncing around in my brain, it's crazy. They need to be let out, but I only have so much time! It's gonna get good, though!)_


	3. Taylor Swift

_(A/N: I wish I had so much more time to devote to this. As it is, I'm already losing sleep and this is only the third chapter! I'm just so excited to get more of the story out there for you to read.)_

It was Sunday, the next day. Wizarding class the night before had gone unusally well. Jerry was pleasantly surprised by the small amount of progress Alex had already shown after just one tutoring session. "It must've been the ice cream" Justin had joked. "When it comes to Alex, you can never go wrong with food for motivation." Annoyed as it made her, Alex couldn't deny that. But now it was Sunday, the one training-free day of the weekend, and she wasn't go to waste one minute of it. As she picked out her clothes, she thought of what to do first. _Well, _she thought, _how about going to the park to prank anyone wearing a horrendous outfit? That's just the kind of thing to get my day going. After that, I'll...who cares? I'll wing it. _Throwing on a pair of purple skinny jeans, a peace sign-print tank top over a long-sleeved shirt, a few necklaces, and her pink Converse, she made her way downstairs to where breakfast was calling her name. "Good morning, honey" said Theresa. "What are your plans for today?" Grabbing a box of cereal and the milk carton, Alex said "Um....yeah trust me mom, you probably don't want to know." "Alex...." her mother warned. "It's nothing, really mom, I'm just going to go to the park, and see what to do from there" Alex said innocently. "All right mija. But if I get one more visit from those nice park rangers, that'll be _it _for you." Theresa decided long ago that in these situations, it was best to warn in advance, and if somehow she didn't get through to her daughter then the consequences could come later. Abandoning her empty bowl and spoon on the counter, Alex raced for the door. Finding her jacket and tossing it on, she said "Bye mom, be home by 3 or 4 or something!" "You'd better be home by 3 because-" Theresa was cut off by the door slamming. Shaking her head, she thought, _what am I going to do with that girl? _

At the park, Alex made a guy wearing khaki crocodile hunter shorts, socks with sandals, and a blue mesh muscle shirt spill his drink on himself walking away from a food cart. _That'll teach him to mix summer clothes with clothing no one should be wearing in ANY season _she thought. During her time in the park, she also made a lady's high heel shoe snap, (it had cats on it!) a dude's man-purse strap rip off, (either have a laptop in it-and even if you do you'd better not have it at the park-or invest in pants with _pockets_) and a teenage girl with 6-inch black roots showing in her dead looking platinum blonde hair get attacked by a squirrel (it didn't _bite _her or anything, just rip out a tiny bit of hair. Alex didn't want to be responsible for giving anyone rabies). All in all, a pretty productive time there. But even pranking people couldn't hold her attention for long. Since she wasn't far from Justin's house, she decided to put that invisibility spell to good use once more. She knew he'd be home alone, because his parents always had stuff going on during the weekend, so there wasn't any chance of her getting in trouble. Once she got to his front door, she did the spell. Then she poofed into his living room. Hmmm. Not there. Tiptoeing around, she decided he must be upstairs in his room. Probably reading one of his precious comic books. Or his chemistry book. You never could tell which mood he'd be in. At the top the steps, Alex froze. Good. Still no movement. His door was even slightly ajar. _I wonder if he'll notice me opening it juuussst a little. I only need to enough to slip inside. _She carefully, carefully began to move the door. It didn't even make any noise; she bet it was because he oiled it any time it even seemed like it was getting squeaky. _Nerd _she thought. Finally, she got the door open just wide enough for her to squeeze in. Justin's back was to the door, and he had his earphones in. That was why he hadn't noticed the door moving. As she moved closer to him, she heard him singing along softly with his iPod:

_....dreaming 'bout the day, when you wake up and find_

_that what you're looking for has been here the whole time_

_If you could see that I'm the one who understands you,_

_been here all along, so why can't you see?_

_You belong with me_

_You belong with me._

Justin had a surprisingly good voice. Alex never knew. However, he was singing along to _Taylor Swift_. She was NOT going to let that one go, not by any means. Returning to the doorway so she didn't give him an actual heart attack this time, she knocked on the door. Justin turned around slowly, the chemistry book (ha! called it!) sliding off of his lap as he did so. "Who-who's there?" he asked nervously. Maybe he was hearing things? He pulled his earphones out. Alex knocked again, this time with a rhythm. The look on Justin's face was priceless. He reached for a blanket and his cell phone, hid under the blanket, and then said in a shaking voice "I-I-I'm not afraid of you! I will call the police, or an exorcist, or a priest, or whatever it takes!" Alex sighed. As good as this was, she couldn't keep it up. "Taayyyylor Swiiiiiift wants you to know she loves you tooooooooo, Justiiiiiiinn" she said, barely able to keep herself from giggling. "Justin's face popped out from under the blanket. "Wait a minute...." he said. Pulling his wand out from under his pillow, he muttered "Whoever's there, I can't see you. Show yourself so I know what to do." Alex had been about to show herself, but found that it was no longer necessary. She looked at Justin. Justin looked at her. Well, more like glared. Wow, was he angry. Like her could kill her, even. Maybe she should run...."Oh no you don't!" said Justin furiously. He threw the blanket off of himself, strode over to the doorway, and grabbed her arm to keep her from escaping. "ALEX RUSSO. WHAT THE _HECK _ARE YOU DOING SNEAKING INTO MY _HOUSE_?" "Now, now, Justin, I was just bored, ok? I didn't mean anything by it..." Truth be told, she was actually a little scared of him right now. When did he get so tall? And he seemed a lot less wimpy when he was mad. She made herself look at him though. "Look, I'm sorry. I wanted to practice that spell again. I didn't realize you needed your alone time with-with-Taylor Swift." At this, she absolutely lost control. She busted up laughing so hard that Justin let her go and stood there, watching her. When she stopped for air, he asked, "Are you done laughing at my expense now?" "Wait for it...." she said. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Ok now I'm done. Until I remember it again later." Justin's face turned from angry to pleading. "Please, Alex, you can NOT tell anyone about this! Everyone thinks Tears of Blood is my favorite band! And, it's not that they aren't, but it will never be enough to cover up for me liking girly stuff too. I know you don't care about anyone's reputation but your own, but can you please consider mine just this once? I'm already unpopular. I might have to switch schools if you tell. And as much as you pretend not to want me around, we both know you'd be unhappy about it. At the very least, you'd have to get a new favorite target." Alex frowned. "I'm not heartless, Justin. I won't tell. But it'll be great blackmail material! And great entertainment when I'm bored!" He gave her a Look. "Yes, Justin, I would be unhappy if you had to leave me. Happy? I guess if you want revenge on me, you have every right to it....but I doubt you can do it." She smirked, and then sighed. "I am sorry." Justin sighed too. "I have _got _to stop forgiving you. But fine. Just get out of my house! I'm going to place some anti-intruder/invisible people spells on my house so this can't happen AGAIN."

After Alex left, (and Justin was POSITIVE she was gone) he sat down on his bed and sighed. Was she crazy?! In a way, though, he couldn't help but admire her determination. But why oh why, of all things, did she have to come in when he was _singing along with Taylor Swift? _And if she knew what he was thinking while he sang the chorus.....no, he didn't even want to think about that. _It's just...frustrating _he thought. _Of course I don't expect anything. We've been friends for 12 years, and friends we'll remain. It would be nice if I wasn't such a baby, and could talk to her about this, but I'm just not brave enough! She said....she'd be unhappy if I left her. Ugh bad Justin! _Justin had long ago settled for admiring Alex from afar. He knew he was lucky to be as good of a friend to her as he was. Perhaps one day....but like always, he refused to get his hopes up. It seemed like all girls liked to stalk people these days anyway, with cell phones and internet and whatnot. He couldn't be flattered by it in any way. She had simply been up to her normal hijinx. Taking a deep breath, he returned to his chemistry book. Now, where had he left off.....

Back at her house, Alex was being praised by her mother for returning home not when she said she would be, but _before! _It was really because her fun with strangers and then Justin had been cut kind of short. _But if she wants to think I'm well-behaved, then hey, I won't argue _she thought mischievously. Leaving her mother to Max, who was getting a lecture about how Alex was finally shaping up to be a good example, she made her way up to her bedroom. Sitting on her bed, she was reminded of last night's telephone conversation with Harper. Oh brother. The second wizarding class was over, (Harper had _uncanny _timing. Or she had actually set up cameras in the Russo house like Alex occasionally suspected) Harper had called to "talk about Justin." Just thinking of it made Alex cringe. Harper had given her a speech about how she had liked Justin since first setting eyes on him in kindergarten, and if Alex was a good friend she wouldn't have grabbed him so many times at the movies, and blah blah blah. After a while, she tuned out. It wasn't worth it to try and persuade Harper that nothing was going on, either. Alex knew she wouldn't hear any of the truth. When she finally got off the phone, ears ringing, she wondered why Harper had had such a major flip-out this time. It wasn't that she hadn't had them before, but this time was worse than usual. _Maybe she thinks she sees things _Alex thought. It was true that Justin looked at her a lot. But that was because he was avoiding Harper's intense x-ray gaze. He was her friend, and he always had been, but that was it. Right? Now, thinking back on the questions she had asked herself, Alex wondered. _I don't really know why I chose to scare him half to death today. I guess that's the kind of thing friends do...well, bad friends anyway. But still just FRIENDS. _She had to admit, though; maybe he listened to Taylor Swift, but it didn't bother her as much as it should. It was actually sort of....sweet. _Ugh _she thought. _When did I get to be such a softie? _But deep down, she knew she had a soft spot for her best guy friend. She meant what she said when she told him she'd be unhappy if he left her.

_(A/N: the song was You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift [duh!]. Finally, some Jalex! Keep reading and reviewing!)_


	4. Too Much To Process

The weeks were starting to fly by. As much as she hated to admit it, Justin's tutoring was really helping Alex. He knew the right ways to motivate her, and never gave up. Gradually, her skills at magic were getting better and better. Not as good as Justin, (he wouldn't let her forget that either, and neither would her dad) but still good enough that she was definitely no longer in danger of losing her powers at any time. One session, Justin said the words that both excited and disappointed Alex: "I think I've done all I can for now. You'll be on your own with studying magic, except for class of course." "Good, because I was getting tired of having to listen to you so much" said Alex. But what she was thinking was a bit different...._I think I'm-dare I say-sad? Justin is a good tutor. And I guess, when you're good, you don't need to stick around for long. What am I getting so sad about? It's not like I won't still be seeing him. Yet....something is changed now. We're closer than we used to be. _And as she stood watching him put the magic books away, she noticed something else. _He's like....really in shape. I need to start paying attention. First he's taller than I realized, and now this? I wonder why he doesn't have a girlfriend, though. Probably because he's only friends with dorks......what the heck am I doing?! Am I seriously checking out my best friend?! Get your head in the game, Alex! _She looked back over at Justin, and he had the strangest smirk on his face. "What?" said Alex defensively. "Oh nothing.....I just noticed you checking out my well-developed muscles. No wonder you wanted to spy on me at my house" he said, still smirking and looking self-satisfied. "What!" exclaimed Alex, trying her hardest not to blush. "I was _not. _Fyi, I've seen much better-developed muscles before. You're only so-so." _So-so not true _she thought. _But he can NOT know I was actually checking him out....I don't even like him like that! _Justin folded his arms. "All right, if you want to lie to yourself, go right ahead" he replied.

"You have a tremendously inflated head if you think that, Justin" said Alex. "Anway, I guess this means that I have to...._study _now? Like, all on my own and everything? Ick." She shuddered. "Way to change the subject. But yes, you'll have to STUDY." When he said study, he mimicked Alex's shudder, exaggerating it so that it looked like he was having a seizure. "Jerk." Alex slapped him to get him to stop. He did, and said, "Ok, time for a celebratory outing. What do you want to do?" Rolling her eyes, she said, "Only you would call having fun a 'celebratory outing.' I don't know....let's just go get a coffee or something. And maybe prank people?" "Coffee, yes. Pranking, no. We shouldn't be getting into trouble while celebrating you being good!" Alex pouted at this. Justin ignored her and asked, "Do you wanna invite Harper?" Alex thought for a minute. "Nah" she said. "Harper isn't much of a coffee person." _And I can't stand being around her anymore when she's with Justin. She's all over him, and then she pesters me later about how he's hers _Alex added silently to herself. "Ok" said Justin. "Let's go." They went to a nearby coffee shop. Alex ordered some frozen drink that probably had more sugar in it than should be consumed in a week, while Justin got a simple iced coffee. "You aren't going to put _artificial sweetener _in it, are you?" Alex asked Justin, horrified. Justin looked equally horrified at the suggestion. "No WAY" he said. "They have aspartame and other bad chemicals that actually _kill _people. A little known fact." _(A/N: It's true!) _"Wow. I've never been gladder to like regular sugar" said Alex. "You know that too much regular sugar can kill you too, don't you?" Justin asked her. "Yeah, yeah, I know. But I still enjoy it from _time to time._" "Good" said Justin, a little too forcefully. Then he looked a little embarrassed. "Justin Thomas! You weren't _worried _about me, were you?" Alex laughed, but inside she was feeling good about this. It meant he cared, and she was going to make him admit it. "Ah....no....I just...diabetes, terrible thing..." Justin stuttered, blushing furiously. "It's ok, Justin. I know you care" she told him. "It's kind of nice to know not everyone hates me." "Alex, I could never hate you" he said intensely, looking her straight in the eye. Alex was speechless, locked in his gaze. She looked away, and so did he; he looked even more embarrassed than before. Needing to set things straight, she put her hand on his arm. "Thank you, Justin" she said quietly. Then, more loudly: "And now, for being a sap, you are about to get ASPARTAMED." When she said this, she poured several packets of artificial sweetener on him.

"ALEX!" he said, jumping up and trying to brush the granules off of himself. "Nuh-uh, can't catch me!" she said, racing away from their table and out of the coffee shop. She ran all the way back to the sub station and waited for Justin to catch up. This gave her time to think. _Could it be that Harper is RIGHT about something? Not that she's stupid. But this is kind of a weird thing to be right about. Is there something going on between me and Justin? There can't be! But the way he was looking at me when he said that....ugh I have no idea, and I can't ask Harper outright...except. I'm pretty good at getting information out of people. I bet I can get her to tell me what she suspects without her realizing what I'm doing. Wait, what AM I doing? Just because he's kind of, ok really, cute, and smart, and nice, and....OMG this can't be happening to me. _Before Alex could reach her conclusion, though, Justin came puffing around the corner. "Alex-*puff*-Russo, you are-*pant*-in trouble" he said, out of breath. "I think you're the one in trouble, Justin. How can you not be failing gym with such terrible endurance?" she said, trying to make a joke out of it as always. "Not-funny-Alex" he said, sitting down at a table in the sub station. "You poured POISON on me, and then ran away. Far away. The least you could do is get me a water!" "Fine, fine, Mr. Killjoy. One water coming up." While she was getting it, Justin was trying to sort out his own thoughts. All he had thought about on his run there had been "why?" _She broke the moment...was she saving me from embarrassment? Our friendship from getting ruined? Herself from feeling the same...of course that's not it, stupid _he berated himself. _And now, she knows I care to some degree. What if she's assuming the worst and things are going to get really awkward now? I refuse to let that happen! I need her to be at least my friend. I can't lose her completely because of one stupid mistake! _Just then, Alex came back to the table holding a large glass of water. "One water for a Mr. Killjoy" she announced. She seemed perfectly unbothered, like nothing had happened. Of course, he couldn't know that was because she had resolved to wait and freak out later by herself. She was fine on the outside; she'd always been a good actress.

_I guess I must have imagined her having a bad reaction _Justin thought somewhat doubtfully. _Everything seems like normal. _He too made a resolution; that he would not let himself slip again like he had in the coffee shop. From then on, it had to be friend stuff, not couple stuff. The last little bit of time they spent together that night was in the sandwich shop. When they parted ways, they said an awkward goodbye. "Thanks again for tutoring me" said Alex. "Sure. Your dad wanted me to" Justin said back. "Well....goodnight, I guess." "Yeah...goodnight, Justin." She watched his back as he left the shop. _Ok....I've just gotta make it to my room, and then I can FREAK OUT _she thought. Then again, maybe it would be better if she just didn't think about it all...._After all, once we got here, things seemed like they always are. Why freak out for no good reason? I'm not Harper. It's probably better to forget anything happened. Nothing really happened, anyway. _She had never much been one to lie to herself, but Alex didn't know what else to do in this strange situation. Confronting feelings and getting into a big mess was NOT at the top of her to-do list.

A very good thing for Alex, or a very bad thing, depending on how she looked at it, was that wizarding class was canceled for the next day. Jerry had to go to a sandwich convention, and Justin had another school thingy. This meant when Alex saw Justin in the hallway at school Monday, she hadn't seen him since the night when..._when nothing happened _she scolded herself. She stayed close to Harper just in case. She noticed he stayed close to his nerd-buddy Zeke. Together, Zeke and Justin were co-king of the nerds. All the smart people looked up to them. The populars, not so much. They mostly ignored the two, a kind of you-have-your-territory-I-have-mine deal. Alex didn't usually socialize with them while at school, so it was no surprise that Harper shook her arm and said "Alex? Why are you staring at my man and his cuteish friend?" Thinking quickly, Alex said "Uh....well, first I was just zoning out; you know, when you can't really see what you're staring at? Then I noticed that they have really dorky outfits on." "That's not very nice, Alex. I think they dress cute. Preppy is just as in as anything I wear!" Harper exclaimed. _Yeah, key words there are 'what I wear' _Alex couldn't help but think. "Ok Harper, if you like preppy, whatever. _I_ like more of a cool, bad boy look." "Like...Dean?" Harper said, her eyes following Dean walk by as she spoke. It was no secret that Harper was terrified of Dean. "Yeah....exactly like Dean" said Alex. She'd had a bit of a thing for him in the past, and no one said she wasn't allowed to like him all over again. "Watch this!" she told Harper. "Hey Dean" she called, walking over to him. "Wassup, Russo?" he said, eyeing her approvingly. "Well....I thought you might be interested to know that I don't have a date to the Spring Formal" she hinted. "Oh, is that so? I could fix that, you know" he said. "I know you could" she said flirtily. "So....we goin' together, or what?" he asked. "You bet we are" she giggled. "Ok, I'll call ya later with the deets" he said, winking at her and walking away. "ALEX!" Harper hissed, rushing over to where her friend stood. "What did you just _do_? You can't go with Dean! He's scary!" "Let it go Harper. You have no reason to be scared of him, he's perfectly nice. And I'm going to the Spring Formal with him!"

"What's this I hear about you and Dean?" said Justin, striding over. "He doesn't have a very good reputation, Alex." "I know" she said, annoyed. What did he care? "I happen to _like _guys with reputations. It adds something to their character." Justin looked seriously bugged by this, but said nothing more to Alex. Instead, he turned to Harper. "Hey Harper...I don't have a date to the Spring Formal, and I was wondering if you'd be interested in going with me?" He had to mentally prepare himself for her reaction. It still wasn't enough. "OH JUSTIN! I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU FELT THE SPARKS! OF COURSE I'LL GO WITH YOU! I NEED TO START MAKING MY DRESS!" Harper threw her arms around him for a quick hug, then ran off to the sewing club room. Justin stood there blinking, dazed. "Now you've done it" smirked Alex. "Wow....that girl is CRAZY! You are one lucky man, Justin" remarked Zeke with an appreciative twinkle in his eyes. Alex and Justin stared at Zeke like he'd lost his mind, then turned back to each other. "I know it was probably not the best idea, but I thought it might make her back off a little if I did something in return. It might work" Justin added defensively. "Who knows, I might even _like _it." "I sure would" interrupted Zeke, still staring after where Harper had been. "Right Justin. I'm sure your little date with Harper will go sooooo well, you'll end up married like in all her scrapbooks" said Alex sarcastically. "At least _I _know I'll be having fun with Dean." At that, she turned and left. What neither Alex nor Justin knew was that they'd both asked out their dates to make each other jealous. However, neither of them had realized it for themselves yet. Alex _thought _she liked Dean, and Justin _thought_ he was being nice to Harper. Things were about to get interesting.

_(A/N: Dean with Alex? Justin with Harper?! Zeke LONGING for Harper?! Oh no! How long will it take everyone to find their right match? I didn't entirely want to update, because my sisters found out I was writing this and I was a little embarrassed, but I want to keep writing and I want people to keep reading! So never mind you, sisters :P )_


	5. Mistakes

_(A/N: Let me just say how much it means to me to have people adding my story to their favorites/alerts! And reviews....they make my day. This being my first-ever fanfic, encouragement gives me the extra push to keep writing. Thanks to any readers who haven't notified me in any way, too. This story is really cliche in a lot of ways, haha, but it's still cute right? Btw, Alex, Justin, Harper, Zeke and Dean are all juniors. The Spring Formal is like a junior prom.)_

After "that fateful day," Alex and Justin had been avoiding each other at school. Not that they usually associated themselves with each other, but they were trying especially hard to keep out of each others' way. Whenever they had no choice but to pass each other, they each ignored the other person-until they could sneak a quick glance at them without them noticing. Alex was mad at Justin for being mad about her going with Dean. Justin was mad at himself for getting Alex mad and asking Harper to go with him, and mad at Alex for going with Dean. Neither would give in and apologize. At their next wizarding class that Saturday, Jerry could tell something was up. Max, however, thought they were playing the Silent Game. "You guys" he pleaded, "can we please not play this game? I'm really bad at it! Look, I'm losing right now, because I'm talking! That was my last sentence. No that was. No that-" "Max, I don't think they're playing the Silent Game" Jerry interrupted quickly. "What's with you two? You always get into little spats, but never this bad. I'm sure whatever it is can't be so bad that you can't work it out. And I'm _positive _it can't be worth losing a friend over." Justin and Alex had been sitting as far apart as possible, with their arms crossed and not looking at each other. At Jerry's little speech, however, they both peeked out of the corner of their eyes to see what the other made of it. Justin sighed, and uncrossed his arms. "Alex," he began, "this is stupid. I don't even know why you're mad at me! If it's about Dean, well, I'd rather not have my friend involved with him, but it's your life and your decision." "Alex finally looked at him. She too uncrossed her arms, but looked a little more unwilling to let it go. "Justin, it _is _my life, and it _is _my decision. I'm glad you see that, because you being mad wasn't going to stop me. I appreciate the concern, though. However....that was a nice thing you did for Harper, but since I'm her best friend and all she's been doing all week is talk my ears off, you owe me. Big time." At this, her expression cracked a bit and she looked a little pleasanter.

"All right" said Justin, although he was still uneasy about the whole Dean thing. He didn't want to press the issue and have Alex stay mad at him. "It's good to see you guys can be mature enough to leave your differences behind you" said Jerry. "Good job, kids. But who is Dean, Alex? Do I need to keep you home from this dance? Should I be worried about his reputation? Come to think of it, I might've heard something about him. He could be trouble. He could hurt you. He could hurt my baby girl!" Alex's dad was starting to get worked up, and she needed to calm him down before he blew things way out of proportion. "Dad, dad, calm down! Dean is a perfectly nice guy! Justin doesn't like him because he's _cool_. I know what I'm doing, I'll be perfectly fine, I swear." "Are you really sure?" Jerry asked. "Because I don't want to have to say I told you so. Even if it is fun sometimes. It would not be fun this time!" "Yes, dad, I'm a mature young adult who makes her own life choices. Everything will be okay." Alex glared at Justin for making her dad go all over-protective on her. He shrugged, as if to say "Don't look at me, I barely said anything." "Hey dad?" Max piped up. "When will I be a mature young adult who makes his own life choices?" "When you're 40" said Jerry. "Now, moving on with the lesson."

After that day, Alex and Justin no longer avoided each other, but things weren't back to normal. They were too civil, too unemotional for anyone to believe things were all right between them. Even Harper complained to Alex about it. "I'm glad you listened to me about staying away from my man and everything, because he's obviously all over me now, but I didn't mean to break up your friendship! Why aren't you hanging out anymore? Is it my fault?" "No, Harper, it's not your fault. Justin and I have our differences. It was only a matter of time before we grew apart" said Alex dejectedly. She was more upset than she let on. "Well, that stinks. I thought you guys were getting closer, not more distant" Harper remarked. "I guess these things happen, though_._"_ Yeah_ thought Alex_. But why? _Right then, her cell phone rang. It was Dean! That's all she needed, a little flirting with a hot guy to take her mind off of things. "Heyyy, Dean" she said as she answered her phone. "Hey babe" he said. "I was wonderin' if ya wanted to go to a movie." "Ooooh, sounds like fun" she gushed. "What one?" "I was thinkin' _Monsters and Makeouts_" he said. Alex wrinkled her nose. Everyone who'd seen it had said it was awful. She wanted Dean to like her, though, so she said "Yeah, sounds good! What time will you pick me up?" "I'll be over in half an hour" he told her. "Until then, babe." "See ya Dean" she said as she hung up. She had a date with Dean, and only half an hour to get ready! Time to hurry, hurry, hurry. After she had her cutest outfit on, though, (a mint green short sleeved blouse under a pale pink tank top, a denim miniskirt, gold high heeled sandals, a silver cuff bracelet and her hair curled) 45 minutes had already gone by. Dean still hadn't shown up. _Where _is _he? _she thought. _He had better not stand me up. _After another ten minutes, Dean sauntered through the door. "Dean! You're almost half an hour late!" she said, annoyed. "Hey hey, turn down the volume, babe. Take it easy. I just wanted to give you a little time to make yourself adorable" he said arrogantly. His eyes swept up and down her body, evaluating; lingering on her bare legs and then on her lips. Alex shivered. She wasn't sure she liked that. "Well, I'm a faster dresser than most girls. Let's get to the movie already." "Whatever you want, babe" he said, slinging his arm across her shoulder and walking her out the door.

At the movies, Alex was starting to get uncomfortable. First, everything had been ok. Sure, the movie was awful, but at least it wasn't completely boring. Dean had bought her candy, too. But when it went from monsters to makeouts as the title promised, he seemed to be getting some ideas. As Dean starting kissing her cheek, and then her neck, and then forcefully on the mouth, she pushed him off and said "What is your problem?! Can't you keep your hands to yourself?" "Shhhhh!" someone behind her said. " "Alex, Alex, you didn't think I really wanted to see this movie, did ya? Everyone know's it's terrible. I just wanted a little...._alone _time with you" Dean smirked. "Now, can we get back to what we were doing?" "I don't think so" Alex said, wrenching her arm out from under him. "I'm going home." She ran out of the theater and didn't stop until she flagged down a taxi to get back home. Once inside the cab, she looked back to see Dean waving his arms and shouting at her. _I will deal with him **later **_she thought. Right now, she needed to stop herself from shaking. That was so different from when she went to the movies with Justin! Granted, they had gone as friends. But he would never, ever pull a sleazeball move like that! What a jerk! The whole "babe" thing was really getting on her nerves, too. _Why do I have to miss Justin so much? _she thought with a sudden pang of loneliness. _I wish....I wish he had been there to protect me. _Feeling miserable, she payed the taxi guy and plowed through her house to her room. At school the next day, Harper was telling Alex about her Spring Formal dress (something about leaves and cherry blossoms and who knows what else) while Alex thought about what to do with Dean. She still sort of wanted to go to the formal with him, but only because she was desperate for a date, he was the hottest guy in school, and she couldn't show Justin he was right. "Do you want me to walk home with you?" asked Harper, interrupting Alex's thoughts. "No, that's ok, Harper. Go work on your, um, _amazing _dress." "Ok Alex! See you later" Harper said, running off. Alex began the walk home from school. It wasn't too far, but she was starting to get the creeps like someone was watching her. Suddenly, a voice whispered in her ear, "I wasn't done with you yesterday, Russo." She whipped around, and was horrfied to see Dean standing there. "G-get away from me, Dean" she said shakily. "Aw, c'mon, babe, you know you want me" he said conceitedly. "No, I don't, and I'm not your 'babe'" she said a little more strongly. "Wrong answer" he said, his eyes getting a hard look and his mouth turning into a frown. He stepped closer to her and grabbed her face between his hands. "Kiss me" he growled. She tried to fight him off, but he was too strong; he pushed her into a wall! All of a sudden, Dean was being lifted off of her. "What the-" he said, turning around. Justin was standing there, holder the collar of Dean's shirt.

"What the hell do you think you're DOING TO MY FRIEND?" Justin bellowed. "Ah-I was-I was-she wants me, but she won't admit it!" Dean tried feebly. "Alex, do you want this guy all over you, or even _around _you?" Justin asked, looking at her. "N-no" she said shakily from her position against the wall. Turning back to Dean, he said "Then I SUGGEST you stay away from her, or some very important people will be hearing about this!" "S-sure, Thomas" Dean said. Then he turned and ran like the coward he truly was. _Only a real jerk would take advantage of a girl who's walking by herself _thought Justin angrily. "Justin...what are you doing here?" The words tumbled from Alex's mouth. She had meant to thank him. "Well, I was trying to catch up to you to ask you what kind of flowers Harper would want for the formal, but then I saw _this _going on" he said, clearly still infuriated. "How do you get yourself into these situations, Alex? Couldn't you have just listened to me before?" he asked more softly. Alex looked down. "Justin...I was so scared. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't come along." She sounded close to tears. "Alex, has anything else happened like this?" he asked. She told him about their disaster of a date, and then she did cry. Burst into tears, burying her face in her hands. Taking her into a hug, Justin tried to comfort her. "Shhh, Alex, it'll be ok. I won't let him bother you anymore, you know that. We both know you know I have awesome muscles. He wouldn't dare mess with that." Alex smiled a little through her tears. "Thanks Justin. I really should have listened to you. I think I needed to prove to everyone that I can make my own choices, and....I don't know. I'm so _stupid_." She still looked upset. Holding her at arm's length and looking her in the eye, he said "You are _not _stupid. Everyone makes mistakes. I make mistakes....like asking Harper out. I never meant to do that. I was just mad at you for asking out Dean and Harper was the closest revenge. Looks like I got revenge on myself with that one, though" he added dryly. "Were you....were you trying to make me jealous?" asked Alex, trying not to look too hopeful. _What's wrong with me? _she asked herself. She shouldn't have said that to him. "Um...." he said, turning a bright shade of red. "No, I wasn't...." Then more seriously, he said "Alex....I.....I....I need to get you home now." He broke off whatever he had been going to say and let go of her. Alex groaned inwardly. He had definitely wanted to tell her something, so what was it? Stupid boys! They walked to the sub station in silence. Once there, she thanked him again quietly for coming to her rescue, and as he turned away she added "She likes daisies. But don't go too crazy, because it sounds like her outfit is practically made of flowers." Justin looked confused, and then got it. "Oh. Ok. Thanks. Stay out of trouble now, bye." "I'll try. See you later." She waved him off, then went inside for her shift in the sandwich shop. That was way too much action in one day for her liking.

_(A/N: Can you feel the Jalex? Huh, huh? My apologies to any Dalex lovers. Sorry Dean is such a jerk in my story! Justin is too perfect though. It's too bad guys like him don't exist. There are a few good ones out there, but none so wonderful ;) I know this story has a 'T' rating, and I would have made more of a fight scene with cursing, but my sister is reading this :P Go away, Leonard! Everyone else, keep reading and reviewing and making my day!)_


	6. Life's No Walk In A Park

_Alex was at the Spring Formal, and she looked great. Music was playing around her, and she was dancing and having a good time. As she twirled, Dean caught her up in his arms. Startled, she tried to remove herself from his grasp. She wasn't strong enough. He forcefully steered her around the room, and she began to panic. Dean twirled her out, but when he brought her back in, something was different. This wasn't Dean! This was Justin! Alex was so relieved, and....happy? Very happy. She was dancing with Justin. The music changed to a slow song, and the two leaned in closer to each other...._

Alex sat straight up in bed, gasping. She tried to slow her heart rate. She'd been having dreams like that all week, since the incident on her way home. Groaning, she put her head between her hands. Life shouldn't be _allowed_ to be so complicated. She was fairly sure that she was safe from Dean now, but thoughts of what he could have done to her haunted her while awake and asleep. Also awake and asleep, though, Justin was there. He was the one keeping her safe. And in her dreams, that wasn't all he was doing...._Oh my goodness Alex _she thought. _You have got to stop thinking about him like that!!! He is your FRIEND. He doesn't mean anything except to keep his FRIEND safe. Even after all the things I've done to him in the past. Oh no, is he being so good because I told him he owes me? For asking out Harper? Ugh I hope not, I mean it seemed like he really cared....dang! What was he going to say to me after my "rescue"? I hate not knowing this stuff! _As she went over these questions for the zillionth time in her head, Alex could feel something. Something she had been trying her hardest to suppress. _Nonono, I don't.... love him.... _was her last thought before she fell back into a fitful sleep.

Justin couldn't sleep either. Unlike the nightmares that woke Alex up, he just plain never fell asleep anymore. He'd lie in bed for hours, and somewhere around 2 or 3 a.m. he'd doze off. The sleep was light, though, and it was never enough. He was beginning to get dark circles under his eyes. _This better not be a regular thing _he thought grumpily. But he knew it would be like this until he could fix the situation. Sure, since he had saved Alex they had gone back to being close. He was like her bodyguard. They had never hung out at school before, but if it was up to Justin he'd be with Alex 24/7. However, it wasn't enough for him to be friends with her anymore. He had to at least _try_. If he could do it right. If their friendship could survive when he failed. Because he would fail, wouldn't he? Surely he would. _Alex _has_ been looking at me a bit different since the incident, but that's probably just admiration of my bravery or something _he thought. _There was that time when we were studying, though....she was totally checking me out. I think. Was she? Wow. I don't stand a chance, do I. If I'm going to do something, I should either wait as long as possible or do it as fast as possible, and neither of those will be easy. I guess I'll have to play it by ear. _He tried to get more comfortable in bed. Sleep was hours away.

The next morning, Alex forgot her dream. She had a nagging feeling that she was forgetting more than just her dream, though. Something she had thought of? No...something she had realized? Maybe. She figured she'd forgotten it for a reason, so she didn't dig too deep into her own mind. It was a Saturday, and she had the lunch shift in the sub station. It always made her cranky to work on the weekends, when it was her only time without school, but she had no choice. It was the family business, and they couldn't afford to hire a bunch of employees. As she was tying her apron on, though, Justin came in. His eyes met hers. Her breath hitched a little in her throat. _I think...I remember what I realized _she thought faintly. His eyes were....such a clear, gray-blue...._SNAP OUT OF IT. NOW. _She shook her head to clear it. "Hey, what are you doing here? I don't think Dean will bother me in my family's own restauraunt. I actually don't think he's going to be bothering me anymore at all" she said to Justin. For some reason, Justin looked a little nervous. "Well I, uh, do you want to do something today? With me?" he asked quickly. She almost wasn't sure she'd heard him right. "What, no date with Harper?" she asked wryly. "No..." he said, sounding a little more normal. "It's not that I don't want to, but I have to work today" she said, sighing. "How about if I help you?" Justin asked. "Why would you want to do that? It's so boring" she said curiously. "I have nothing better to do today" he said, shrugging. "Besides, you know it's never boring when you're around." He smiled at her. Inside, he wanted to slap himself silly for it. Why couldn't he keep himself together anymore? She blushed a little. "Funny, because it's _always _boring when _you're _around" she teased. "Does that mean you want me to leave?" he asked, pretending she'd hurt his feelings. "Nah, I guess not. We must balance each other out" she said, this time smiling at him. _Bad Alex! I'm never this nice. He's going to know something's up. _Turning quickly away from him, she looked for another apron. "Here" she said, tossing one to him. "You'd better put this on, because mustard is not an easy stain to get out." "Whatever you say, boss" he said, saluting. "But I have worked here before. Just tell me which tables are mine, and I'm on it." She told him which ones were his, and then a bunch of people came in. The weekend lunch rush was about to begin.

All afternoon, they were pretty busy, bustling from table to table taking and delivering orders. Alex was glad Justin was there, if only because she needed the help. Somehow between all the business, they also found time for a few laughs. Like in the kitchen, Alex flicked soap suds from the sink over at Justin, and he retaliated by lobbing a stale roll at her head. She ducked just in time, giggling. They also narrowly avoided running into each other a few times, coming in and out of the kitchen and running food from table to table. It was the most fun Alex had ever had at work. She couldn't admit that to Justin, but it was true. At four o'clock, Theresa came downstairs to take over for the dinner shift. "Oh, hello Justin" she said, surprised. "I didn't ask you to come in today. I wasn't expecting to write a paycheck" she said somewhat nervously. "Don't worry Mrs. Russo, this one's all on me. I was bored, and Alex looked like she could use an extra hand, so I helped. Don't worry about the money." Theresa smiled at him. "Thank you Justin. It means a lot to me how kind you are to my family. Maybe some of your good influence will rub off on Alex!" She took Alex's apron from her. "You two run along now, you still have some time before..._class_." She looked around to make sure no one was listening. Alex rolled her eyes. "Ok, mom. Will do." She and Justin headed outside. "What do you feel like doing?" Alex asked. "Whatever you feel like doing" he replied. "Then let's go to the park and, I dunno, be lazy" she said. "Sounds good to me" he said. They walked to the park because it wasn't that far. That was the nice thing about New York. You could walk practically everywhere. Once they got to the park, they looked for a spot to sit. "How about the swings?" Justin suggested. Normally, Alex wouldn't go for anything...active, but the swings seemed good for two people. No one was forcing her to actually _swing_, either. "Ok" she told him. Making sure there were no cranky children around, they made their way to the swings and sat down.

They talked about school and magic and work, but neither of them brought up the topics of Dean, Harper, or the Spring Formal. At one point, an old lady with a walker hobbled over and told them what a cute couple they were. She said to Alex that she was lucky to have such a nice boy, and to Justin that he should treat Alex right and not let her go. They were speechless as they watched her hobble away. Both were blushing, and could hardly look at each other. "Well....that was awkard" said Alex, embarrassed. "Yeah...I mean, imagine. Us, a couple? Ridiculous." Justin looked at her. "Right?" "Um, right" she said. Did he know what she was thinking? He couldn't. He couldn't know that she wished everything the old lady had said was true. It was too hard for her to admit to herself, let alone to him. She didn't know he was thinking the exact same thing. _She's so cute sitting in that swing _he thought. _I wish that lady was a psychic, telling us our future together. _Somehow, their conversation picked back up again, but they had a new subject to add to the list of ones to avoid. Before they knew it they had to start making their way back to Alex's house for wizarding class anyway.

The next day, Alex was on the phone with Harper. Harper was putting the finishing touches on her dress and had to tell Alex all about it. The Spring Formal was that Friday, after all. _It's really this week? _thought Alex in a daze. Time flies by when you don't plan on going. "Alex, are you ok? I know you kinda tune me out when I tell you this stuff, but you sound even more distracted than usual" Harper said. "You haven't even told me what your dress looks like!" "Um...Harper..." "Alex! You haven't gotten your dress yet?! It's only a few days away! You don't have time to find one! We need to go shopping NOW. I'm coming over!" Harper exclaimed. "Wait, Harper! Before you do that. I don't need a dress, because I'm not going" Alex confessed. "But....but....is it because of Dean?" Harper knew all about what had happened between them. "You can still go and have fun, you know. He wouldn't dare get near you there, around so many people." "It's not that, Harper. Maybe a little bit, but not completely. I just...don't want to go." "You love dances, Alex! Something _is_ wrong, I knew it. What's the problem?" Alex hardly knew what to tell her friend. _I think I'm in love with your date? That's not going to work _she thought. "It's complicated. There's this guy, and...well it's not important, believe me. This isn't a normal dance anyway, it's Spring Formal. Too stuffy for my tastes. You go with-with Justin, and have your dream date." Did Harper notice how she said Justin's name? "Ah, ok, Alex. If you're really sure. Let me know if you change your mind, though, I can totally whip you up a dress." "Thanks for understanding. I'm glad you get me, Harper. Bye." "Bye" Harper said, before Alex hung up. All she had to do was make it through this week, and then the disaster that was sure to be Spring Formal would be over. Hopefully no more lying to Harper then, too. _Once he sees how clingy Harper is, he can move on to me.....aw who am I kidding? I couldn't do that to Harper. Not while she's so "in love" with him. Even if I was that mean, she'd murder me. I'd like to magic myself to Mars again, except I know all that's waiting for me there is red sand and too much alone time to think about it all. _Time to prepare herself for hell week.

_(A/N: I've come to realize I use a lot of dotdotdots. In writing, in IMing, in e-mails, whatever. I do it a lot haha. Thanks for reading and reviewing! There won't be too much more to this story. So keep an eye out for my SWAC Nico/Portlyn oneshot, called "You Found Me" after the Kelly Clarkson song [not The Fray].)_


	7. Spring Formal

_(A/N: I'd just like to say thanks for the encouraging reviews! Don't worry, I think you'll be happy with the way things pan out ;) Now what are you doing?! Read the story!)_

Every day at school was its usual torture times about a gazillion. Alex had never wanted to drop out more. Unfortunately, her parents wouldn't let her, and she couldn't explain to them why she didn't want to go (more than usual). _Yeah, mom, it's because if Harper tells me one more time that she hopes Justin will kiss her I'm going to barf up my intestines. That's why I want to drop out...._ Even if her parents bought that excuse, she'd never give it to them. No one could know what she kept under lock and key inside herself. She'd actually looked up a spell for it! No one could make her admit her....feelings for him; she was the only one who could decide to. _There is no way that's going to happen _she thought. If she could just wait this little infatuation out, the spell would break because there'd be no need for it. Anyway, school....Harper seemed oblivious to the expression Alex got on her face whenever her date with Justin or the Spring Formal came up in conversation. Harper was insistant that Alex go. Alex kept saying she'd rather not, and then she'd clam up about it, forcing Harper to move on. Harper showed Alex a picture of her finished dress. It looked like a mobile summer getaway for bees. Flowers everywhere. "It's _Spring _Formal. It should be spring-y" Harped said stubbornly. There was no talking her out of it now that the formal was so close. Alex had the night of the formal all planned out. Watch a few movies, pig out, wear her comfy jammies and snuggle her favorite blanket, give herself a manicure, absolutely anything and everything to distract herself. It _had _to work. She was depending on it. With any luck, Harper would be disappointed by Justin's lack of dancing skills, or dorky outfit, or something...._No. I can't begrudge her the one thing she's wanted for years _Alex though grimly. _I've only....wanted him for a little while. _Right? Exactly how long had she been feeling this anyway? With a sinking feeling, she realized it had probably been something that built up over the years. She just hadn't let herself see it because she was in denial. Truthfully, she'd take denial back ANY day over this miserableness.

Friday night was there. Justin looked in the mirror, straightening his emerald green tie and fussing over his hair. _Time to face the music, Justin _he thought reluctantly. Harper would be waiting for him to pick her up. He didn't know if he was more nervous to see her, or the dress she had inevitably created for the formal. _Alex said it's practically made of flowers _he thought, feeling a pang at the memory of Alex. _I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself for asking Harper to go with me. It should have been Alex. I should have been man enough. She's just a girl....ugh, no she's not! She's not perfect, but she's perfect for _me. _I could even have asked her to go as friends and seen where that would've taken us. It could've grown, flourished. But now I've ruined it. _Scooping up the bouquet of daisies for Harper, he made his way out the door.

At Harper's house, things were crazy. Like always. It made Justin feel kind of bad for her, and remember that while it had mostly been a mistake to ask her, he was doing her a huge favor by taking her. Somehow Mr. and Mrs. Finkle stopped bickering long enough to take about 200 pictures of Justin and Harper together. There were embarrassed grins as he presented her with the daisies. Giggles as she tucked one into her curled hair. "Justin, it's exactly what my outfit needed!" she squealed. He seriously doubted this. She was wearing a dress that she had made out of something akin to burlap, but you couldn't see that part. Through the burlap-stuff she had threaded hundreds and hundreds of flowers, some fake, some real. In her purse she had a miniature spray bottle to keep the real ones perky throughout the dance. Her earrings were leaves. Underneath her bust was an emerald green ribbon that matched Justin's tie, and while it accentuated her waist nicely, it was not nearly enough to distract from the flora. She wore matching green flats as well, and the daisy tucked behind her ear made her look like some kind of forest nymph. _All in all, it's very pretty considering what she _could've _come up with _Justin tried to think positively. _Maybe I'll manage to have some fun tonight after all? _But instead of encouragement to himself, it seemed more like a question.

At the dance, Harper fit right in with the theme. Justin almost couldn't hold his laughter in when he saw Zeke ogling her. "Harper..." Zeke said almost breathlessly. "Did they design the theme around you? Because they failed to capture the-the true beauty of your ensemble." Harper blushed. Was this an actual, real compliment from someone she wasn't related to? "Thank you Zeke, but no. I _was_ going for a spring-y feel with my outfit, though." "C'mon, Harper" said Justin, steering her toward the punch bowl. It seemed like no matter the occasion, it was required for their school to have a punch bowl. "Hey...where's Alex?" Justin asked Harper, trying not to be too obvious. "Oh, didn't you know?" said Harper, surprised. "She didn't want to come. I tried to persuade her for days, but it didn't work." "It's not because of Dean, is it?" asked Justin angrily. The thought of that...that....he couldn't stand it. "No, not Dean" said Harper quickly. Then she sighed. "Justin, I think there's something you need to know." Gesturing for him to lean in closer, she whispered something in his ear. After a minute his eyes grew wide. "What should I do?" he asked helplessly. "Go" Harper said, smiling. "Get out of here!" She gave him a little push towards the door. "Ok!" he said, and ran out of the room. After a few seconds he came back in (a group of people looked at him funny for that). "Thank you, Harper" he said and kissed her on the cheek. "Anytime to help a friend" was her response. He ran back out. She stood smiling at the door, lost in her thoughts. That is, until someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to see Zeke standing there looking awkward. She couldn't help but notice that his mint green shirt and pale pink tie complemented her outfit in a way Justin's had not. "H-Harper? Would you....you probably don't want to. But I thought I should ask. But it's a bad idea so I'll just-" "Of course I'll dance with you, Zeke" she cut him off happily. "You will? I mean, great! What about Justin though?" he said. "Justin had to do something" she said knowingly. "Then let's go make people jealous!" said Zeke, leading her out on the dance floor. While they didn't exactly make people jealous, (Harper was shedding blossoms all over the place and Zeke was flailing his arms an awful lot) no one was blind to how happy they looked. It was clear they, at least, were enjoying themselves.

_(A/N: Short chapter! I'm sorry. Actually, I'm really sorry. Because....I'm not publishing the next chapter until Valentine's Day! I'm such a meanie-bo-beanie! I've gotta keep you all on your toes somehow, though. And it's more romatic-al. I'll have written and published this entire story in under two weeks [impressive? I think so.] if I don't drag it out just a teensy weensy bit. Harper is like a fairy godmother. Just you wait.)_


	8. Broken Spell

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(A/N: Happy Valentine's Day! OMG, I just found out that this story was added to the Wizardcest community. I don't know whether to be flattered or offended. This is not an incest story! This chapter is dedicated to my 'double L' reviewers. Thanks you two for all the reviews along the way!)

Justin hurried along the streets of New York. He was aware that he probably looked slightly crazy, sprinting along in his suit. It didn't bother him. Nothing could bother him after what Harper told him. Especially if she was right! Skidding to a stop in front of Waverly Sub Station, he yanked open the front door. He ran up to the counter where Max was eating one of his nasty sandwich creations. "Hey, Max, is your sister here?" Justin asked breathlessly. "Ah finksheeze ub stars!" "What?" said Justin. Max swallowed. "I think she's upstairs! But wait, what are you doing here in those fancy clothes? Isn't that spring thingy happening tonight?" "Yeah, but it doesn't matter" Justin said. "Thanks Max. " "Whatever, dude" Max said, watching the older boy run up the steps into the apartment. Alex had weird friends. With a shrug, he stuffed more sandwich into his mouth.

When Justin reached the top of the stairs, he looked around. Hmmm....no Alex. That was weird. Normally she'd be planted in front of the TV set, or rummaging in the fridge. He was about to go up the next flight of steps when he noticed a light on out on the balcony. He could just make out the silhouette of a girl standing with her back to him. Justin slid the balcony door open. What he saw surprised him. Everyone knew Alex was lazy, but she was hardly ever sloppy. However, sloppy was the only word for her attire. Old pajamas, slippers, and hair in a ponytail; she also had a ratty blanket wrapped around her. She flinched a little at the sound of the door, but didn't turn around. _Probably Max come to bug me _she thought, annoyed. Alex had been standing out there for a while, moping. All her grand distraction plans had failed. "Alex?" said Justin softly. "Are you all right?" Hearing his voice, she turned around. "What do _you _want?" she asked moodily. _Why is he, of all people, here? _she wondered. Justin wasn't positive in the evening light, but he thought he saw the glimmer of tear tracks on her cheeks. The usual sparkle was gone from her eyes. "I came here to...first tell me what's wrong" he said firmly. "Shouldn't you be at Spring Formal _partying it up _with Harper?" she asked bitterly. "My explanation can wait until you give yours" he said. She sat down on a lawn chair, not looking at him. "I didn't want to go to the formal" she said stiffly. "And?" Justin prompted her. "And...and it's because of a guy. Ugh, I'm such a teenage girl!" she cried, burying her face in her hands. Justin waited for her to elaborate. She didn't. "Please tell me it's not Dean, Alex. He won't bother you anymore, if that's the problem. But if it's because even after what he did to you, you still _want _him, then-" "It has nothing at all to do with Dean" she said. "Then who?" he asked desperately. She shook her head. "You at least sort of know my reason now. It's time for you to explain why you're here and not with Harper."

Justin began pacing. "First let me say, if you're worried about Harper's feelings, she's absolutely fine with me being here. Zeke has a thing for her anyway, when I left he was lurking around trying to work up the nerve to ask her to dance." "Wait....you went? You went and you left?" Alex asked. "Yes" he said. "I'm getting to that. Maybe I should start at the beginning. I went to pick Harper up, gave her the flowers, had a million pictures taken of me, yadda yadda. We got to the formal. I noticed....I noticed you weren't there, so I asked Harper why. She said you didn't want to go and wouldn't give her a real reason why. She told me that you had once mentioned something about a guy being why you weren't going, and she wanted to know which one, but you never said anything except for the once. She's rather cleverly been saying specific things to you all week, to figure it out, and she told me she was almost positive who it is." "Really...." said Alex, barely able to keep the panic out of her voice. _This is it _she thought. He knew. And he was there to tell her they were better as friends. She couldn't look at him. She had never feared rejection so much in her life. Not the way she was so extremely dreading it now. "Alex..." Justin turned to face her. Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Is it me?" She still wasn't looking at him. "Justin I can't tell you, I can't, I know what you'll say" she babbled, sounding dangerously close to tears. "And what will I say, Alex?" he asked softly, tilting her chin up so she would look him in the eyes. She was shocked. The expression on his face was so kind, so....loving. She was scared. She wasn't ready for this! She broke away from him and walked to the far side of the balcony. Justin stayed where he was, running a hand through his hair. _Think, Justin, think! _he thought frantically. Harper had warned him that Alex seemed slightly uncomfortable with her feelings, especially if they were as new as she suspected. Maybe a slower start...."Verto in music" he whispered.

The radio on the balcony turned on to a slow song, Wrapped In Your Arms by Fireflight. Justin walked over to Alex and offered his hand. "Will you dance with me?" he asked her. She looked at him and nodded, taking his hand. He lead her to the center of the balcony and pulled her into a kind of embrace. They swayed to the song.

_Is this the whole picture,_

_Or is it just the start?_

_Is this the way you love me?_

_You're capturing my heart_

_I used to try and walk alone_

_But I've begun to grow_

_And when you tell me just to rest_

_I'm finally letting go. I let go_

Alex rested her head on Justin's chest. "Justin?" she said. "Harper's ok with this?" "Harper's the one who sent me here" said Justin. "Remind me to thank her" she said. They shifted positions, and she pulled her head off of his chest so that she could see him. Alex wrapped her arms more tightly around him. Finding the bravery to look into his eyes, she leaned in closer until their lips met. Justin wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in close to him, deepening the kiss. When they pulled apart, he said, "Is this what you want?" _Has he always been so considerate? _Alex thought to herself. "_You_ are what I want" she replied simply. "I'm why you weren't at the dance? I knew I should've asked you. You have no idea how angry it made me to see you with Dean, and when he tried to hurt you..." "It's ok now, Justin. Although, I was afraid you were only saving me from him because I said you owed me." She looked down. "Alex, I would've saved you no matter what. You have no idea what you mean to me. There have been so many times...ugh. We could've been together already." "I don't know about that" she said seriously. "I think we needed the time to grow." "Maybe you're right" he said. "What matters now is that we have all night if you want....did you want to go to the Spring Formal? I bet we could zap you a dress if we needed to." "Break the _rules_?" she said, mock-horrified. "We don't need to go that far. In fact, we don't need to go anywhere. I think I'd rather stay here, if you don't mind." "Sounds good to me" he said with a smile. The song on the radio had changed to Naturally, Alex's favorite song. Now it was to the chorus:

_You are the thunder and I am the lightning_

_ANd I love the way you know who you are and to me,_

_It's exciting when you know it's meant to be_

_Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally_

_When you're with me baby_

_Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally_

_Bay-bay-bay-beee_

"I think this should be 'our song'" Alex stated. "Really?" Justin asked, frowning. "I kinda thought Wrapped In Your Arms would be our song." "But Naturally is so much more fun!" Alex objected. "It's more upbeat, and I really think-mmfff." Justin cut her off with a kiss. When he pulled back from her, he looked into her dark brown eyes and whispered "We can figure the details out later. Right now, you need to know....I love you Alex." She gazed into his gray-blue eyes. "I love you too" she said quietly. The spell she'd placed on herself was broken. She'd freely admitted her feelings. They stood together, sharing a moment of peace. Unbeknownst to the two, far on the streets below them an old woman with a walker and a purple pepper ring smiled. "Those two" she said mysteriously, shaking her head. Some things never changed.

**The end. Or is it?**

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_(A/N: I'm pretty sad to see this story end, yet it's so very satisfying. I hope everyone liked the ending! Thanks also to Porkchop Sandwiches for being my first-ever reviewer, and to DeanHenderson, kitty with a chance, AngelKirstie, and yes even YOU FairyLover321 [aka....my sister] for your reviews. Thanks to anyone and everyone reading this. If you don't know the band Fireflight, look them up! My next story is a SWAC oneshot called You Found Me. I've also got an idea for an HP threeshot about Fred and George. Watch for them, and adios for now!)_


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